Mesh Rider NMS
Getting started
Doodle Labs · Mesh Rider NMS

From the installer to live radios in about ten minutes.

One app on your PC, one cable to one radio, and the whole mesh appears on screen.

~10 minmostly waiting
0 commandsall point and click
1 cablePC to any radio
Install for Windows Install for Linux
Or start with the checklist
Your PC runs the NMS app LAN cable GATEWAY the rest of the mesh
1

Before you start

Tick each one off. Your ticks stay on this computer.

Let's get ready
Everything here is needed once.
How to set your PC's addressAbout two minutes. Do it once, after you plug in the cable.
Radios live on10.223.x.xYour PC needs an address in the same range to talk to them.
Settings›Network & internet›Ethernet›IP assignment: Edit
Settings›Network›Wired ⚙›IPv4
  1. Open the path above. Pick the Ethernet adapter the radio cable is in.
  2. Next to IP assignment, click Edit and choose Manual.
  3. Turn IPv4 on and type the two values shown.
  4. Leave Gateway and DNS empty. Click Save.
  1. Open the path above. Click the ⚙ next to Wired.
  2. On the IPv4 tab choose Manual.
  3. Type the address and netmask shown. Leave Gateway and DNS empty.
  4. Click Apply, then switch Wired off and on again.
Using this cable for your office network later?Set it back to Automatic (DHCP) when you are done with the radios.
Edit IP settingsWired · IPv4
DetailsIdentityIPv4IPv6
Manual
IPv4On
10.223.1.100
255.255.0.0
leave empty
leave empty
SaveApplyCancel

Same on every radio

A radio joins the mesh only when these match.

SSID Channel Bandwidth Model / band Mesh password Mesh mode

Try it: one setting different

Every radio matches, so all four link up.

2

Install the app

A couple of minutes. Nothing to choose.Four steps. The only password is your own computer's.

Get the installerClick to download it from SharePoint (sign in with your Doodle Labs account), then open it from your Downloads.
Install for Windows Install for Linux
Downloads
MeshRiderNMS-Setup-….exedouble-click
1

Double-click the installer

No need to right-click or run as administrator. Windows asks for permission by itself.

Windows protected your PC

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting.

More info
Run anywayDon't run
2

Blue warning? More info → Run anyway

The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows may warn you first.

User Account Control
Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?
Mesh Rider NMS Setup
Verified publisher: Unknown
YesNo
3

Allow changes: click Yes

Windows asks for admin permission. That is the only time it is needed.

Mesh Rider NMS Setup Wizard welcome page with a Next button
4

Click Next

It installs by itself. No folders, no options.

Windows Security asks whether to allow Bun on public and private networks
5

Windows asks about "Bun": click Allow

Bun is part of Mesh Rider NMS. It is the part that finds your radios.

Setup complete page with Open Mesh Rider NMS ticked and a Finish button
6

Keep "Open Mesh Rider NMS" ticked → Finish

The app opens in its own window. Later, use the desktop or Start menu icon.

App Center showing mesh-rider-nms with a Potentially unsafe warning and an Install button
1

Double-click the .deb → Install

App Center opens. The "Potentially unsafe" box is expected for a package from outside the store. Click Install.

If an archive viewer opens instead: right-click the file → Open With → App Center.

App Center asks: Are you sure you want to install it? with Cancel and Install buttons
2

"Are you sure?" → Install

App Center asks once more. Click Install again.

Authentication required
Authentication is required to install software
••••••••••
Authenticate
3

Type your own computer password

The one you sign in to this PC with. Nothing else to answer.

Mesh Rider
Mesh Rider NMS
4

Super key → type "Mesh Rider" → open

The Super key is the one with the Windows logo.

Managed computer? IT can install it with one command:
sudo apt install ./
3

Create your account

The first person to open the app makes the administrator account. There is no default password.

The Create your administrator account page
Save the recovery keyThe app offers a small .txt file. Keep it somewhere safe. It is the only way to reset your own password.
4

Get your radios on screen

Switch the radios on. Within a minute or two they appear on the Dashboard by themselves.

Discovery mode is on by default for 30 minutesAny Mesh Rider your PC can reach joins, including a colleague's. Turn it off with the Discovery mode switch in the top bar if radios you don't own are switched on nearby. After 30 minutes, new radios wait for an admin to approve them.

Reading the Schematic · tap a number

The Dashboard Schematic with the gateway at the centre, hop rings and radio links
5

Change settings safely

Radios only talk to each other when their mesh settings match. The app changes them together, checks every radio, and undoes a change that doesn't take.

Whole meshChange these together

Sent to every radio that answers. You can't leave a radio out, because it would be cut off.

Channel Bandwidth Model / band Mesh ID Mesh password Device count Encryption

One radioFine on its own

Change these on just the radios you pick.

Transmit power Radio name

Every value is picked from a list of what your radios report they support. Nothing is typed, so an impossible value can't be sent.

Two places to make a change

Quick: on the DashboardChannel and bandwidth for the whole mesh
The Dashboard with Fleet navigation open on Fleet mesh settings
Everything: All configuration → Radio SettingsOpen it from Fleet navigation on the Dashboard. Admins only.
Configure, Radio Settings, on the Edit settings step

What happens when you press Apply

One at a time, gateway lastEach radio's link drops for about a minute while it comes back. Keep the page open.
Every radio is checkedIf one isn't heard running the new setting in time, all of them put the old one back by themselves.
No silent failuresA radio that didn't take the change raises an alert that names it.
"Changing … alone takes it off the mesh"If you see this, you're about to move one radio on its own. Unless that's what you want, go back and apply to the whole mesh.
Read anything in red before you tickSome saves reset another setting. For example, a mesh settings save puts transmit power back to maximum. The app says so and asks for its own tick.
6

The icon by your clock

Closing the window doesn't stop the app. It keeps watching your radios and starts with your computer. The dot tells you how it is.

The Mesh Rider M icon

Right-clickClick the icon:
Open Mesh Rider NMSBrings the window back.
Open Logs FolderThe files support may ask for.
ExitStops everything until you open it again.

Can't see it? Windows hides it under the ^ arrow. Drag it out to keep it visible.

Top right on Ubuntu. On desktops without tray icons (Debian's standard one), the same menu is behind the ☰ button in the app window.

Known issues

Problems we already know about in this release, and how to work around them. No need to report these again. Something new? Report it.

IDWhat happensWhereWorkaroundStatus

Report a bug or share feedback

Found something that isn't in Known issues, or have an idea? Tell us on the Asana board.

Mesh Rider NMS feedback board

Bugs Something confusing Ideas

Check Known issues first. If it's already listed, there's no need to report it again.

Open the board in Asana https://app.asana.com/1/976603226005265/project/1219676641499153/task/1219803073198860

What to include

  • A screenshotIt shows more than a paragraph can.
  • Three linesWhat you were doing, what you expected, what happened.
  • Your computerWindows or Linux, and which version.
  • Logs, if the app itself misbehavesRight-clickClick the tray icon → Open Logs Folder → attach supervisor.log and tray.log.